An Innovation Salon in Action

Earlier this week, Northwestern University’s Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems [NICO] hosted the 2006 Complexity in Action Conference entitled ‘Creating a FUEL BED for Innovation: Providing a Structure for Self-Assembly and Business Value Emergence.’ It certainly provided me with interesting ideas around how to incorporate complexity science and network science into my role as a retained executive search consultant, such as

How to apply concepts and ideas from other disciplines [i.e., supply chain, biology] to improve my capabilities

How to think about and more effectively use the three key components of a network [nodes, links, and structure & dynamics] to find candidates

How to develop the ‘right’ questions to more effectively assess a company’s culture and potential candidates.

Cheers to NICO and CANet for creating an innovation salon. More key findings to come.

Sandra is the Managing Partner of Evolving Strategies LLC, a consulting firm helping companies and people learn, adapt and perform. Sandra holds a Master of Science degree in Adult Learning and Strategic Organizational Change from Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Arkansas. Previous employers include the Corporate Executive Board, Lante Corporation, Kensington International, and Accenture where Sandra was awarded mentor of the year.